xiii, 269 p. : 24 cm

Did the Washington Post bring down Richard Nixon by reporting on the Watergate scandal? Did a cryptic remark by Walter Cronkite effectively end the Vietnam War? Did William Randolph Hearst vow to "finish the war" in the 1898 conflict with Spain? In Getting It Wrong, W. Joseph Campbell addresses and dismantles such prominent media-driven myths--stories about or by the news media that are widely believed but which, on close examination, prove apocryphal. In a fascinating exploration of these and other cases--including the supposedly outstanding coverage of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina--Campbell describes how myths like these can feed stereotypes, deflect blame from policymakers, and overstate the power and influence of the news media. --Publisher's description

Includes bibliographical references (p. 249-256) and index

"I'll furnish the war": the making of a media myth -- Fright beyond measure? the myth of The war of the worlds -- Murrow vs. McCarthy: timing makes the myth -- The Bay of Pigs-New York Times suppression myth -- Debunking the "Cronkite moment" -- The nuanced myth: bra burning at Atlantic City -- It's all about the media: Watergate's heroic-journalist myth -- The "fantasy panic": the news media and the crack-baby myth -- "She was fighting to the death": mythmaking in Iraq -- Hurricane Katrina and the myth of superlative reporting -- Conclusion

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